FotoChute grabs pictures with simple interface

22:48 EST - Well known for it's color flip-screen mobile image storage and playback device called FlashTrax, SmartDisk has launched a new, smaller and less expensive solution for photo retrieval and storage, and they call it FotoChute.

The device is quite a bit smaller than the Flash Trax, and couldn't be simpler. Using the USB cord of your digital camera, just connect the camera to the FotoChute, press a button on the device and images begin to upload from the camera to the onboard 20GB hard drive. A small blue LCD serves as a data and menu display, which is navigated using the five way button cluster right of the screen. A full... (More)

Booth Report: Olympus Corp.

22:00 EST - As you might expect, Olympus Corp. has one of the larger booths at PMA, with the company showing off pretty much its entire range of imaging products.

Olympus had a whole raft of announcements in the leadup to PMA, with standouts including three fixed aperture zoom lenses for the E-System digital SLR family, and additions to the company's "Total Imaging Solution" - a group of products designed for compatibility, ease-of-use, and a rather "Apple-esque" minimalist fashion sense. (Indeed, Olympus had one of Apple's iMac computers... (More)

Booth Report: Leica Camera AG

15:40 EST - Leica Camera AG's booth at PMA is highlighting the company's M-system and R-system film cameras, as well as the Digital Module R digital camera back.

The Digital Module R allows users to convert the R8 and R9 35mm film cameras quickly and painlessly to a digital camera with a whopping 10 megapixel sensor resolution. The speed with which the back can be installed really is impressive - booth reps had the changeover down to probably as little as 20 seconds.As they joked to us when switching from digital back to film, the most difficult part is probably... (More)

Booth Report: Nikon Inc. (UPDATED)

14:51 EST - Though it is surprising to see a high-end SLR with a 4.1 megapixel sensor in 2005, Nikon Inc. was unabashed introducing the D2Hs with just such a sensor.

Speed is the main purpose of the D2Hs, with an 8 frame per second shutter and a buffer that can handle 40 RAW images or 50 JPEGs, and Nikon is betting that its target market of reporters and sports photographers will still want and need such a speed demon. The JFET LBCAST sensor and firmware were redesigned to remove some of the noise that was a problem on the D2H, and a faster, more precise AF system... (More)

Speed portrait studio workflow with Wi-Pics

14:01 EST - More and more the technological push is toward innovative use of wireless technology to ultimately relegate cards and cables to use as backup devices, while freeing the photographer to shoot more naturally without a long cable attached to their camera.

Two major camera manufacturers have addressed that need for their cameras, but DiceAmerica has aimed more specifically at the high-volume portrait studio creating a solution that's compatible with most CF card-based SLRs. Their Wi-Pics Workflow system is a belt-mounted device with an 802.11a/b/g wireless transmitter, two CF slots, and an optional 20GB hard drive. The units are configurable to the... (More)

Booth Report: Sony Corp. (UPDATED)

13:52 EST - As usual, Sony Corp. has amongst the larger and more visually impressive booths at PMA with numerous areas offering demonstrations of a wide variety of consumer electronics products, from digital cameras through camcorders, printers, storage devices and Memory Stick products.

Amongst the digital camera announcements, the long-zoom stabilised lens Cyber-shot DSC-H1 stands out as interesting - mostly for the fact that it brings Sony into a market it has been conspicuously absent from. The camera is also noteable for another reason - it is the only model in Sony's 2005 lineup that doesn't offer a Zeiss-branded lens. In talking with representatives from the company, Sony had... (More)

KlearVision available for consumers, pros, and labs

13:42 EST - I spent a little time with Moshe Keydar, Chairman of KlearVision Digital, and learned about their Photo-D Automatic Image Correction System.

In all three iterations, Photo-D uses what the company calls a rule-based expert system to enhance digital image files "that are accurate in every way," according to the press release. We've obtained the consumer version, and hope to get the prosumer version for testing soon. I'm confident I have more than a few batches of flat images that will give the program plenty to chew on. KlearVision Digital... (More)

VIDEO COVERAGE ONLINE!

02:57 EST - Apologies for "shouting," but we're pretty excited about this: After much work (and at just before 3 AM local time), we now have our first video segment online!

What started out as a simple idea to bring our readers more of the feel of actually being at the show ended up turning into huge effort. - But one we hope will be well worth it. We're proud to present the first IR Video, as Dave and Shawn take you behind the scenes during setup for the PMA show, and highlight some of their picks for the most interesting products at the "Sneak Peek" press event prior... (More)

Booth Report: Eastman Kodak Co. (UPDATED)

01:56 EST - Without a doubt, one of the biggest stories in the entire photo industry over the last couple of years has been the resurgence of Eastman Kodak Co.

Looking at the company's heavy dependence on its film business, and what many viewed as a moribund, ingrown corporate culture, many analysts had largely written the company off as a serious player in the rapidly evolving world of consumer imaging. Several years ago though, Kodak took a hard look not only at where the market was going, but where it had been, and who exactly it was who had traditionally... (More)

Booth Report: Hewlett Packard (UPDATED)

01:10 EST - Probably the first item of greatest interest at the Hewlett Packard booth is something we'll be covering at length, the HP PhotoSmart 8750 printer.

Billed as a Professional Printer, the 8750 has nine inks and 13x19 print output. Two of the nine inks are light grey and dark grey, which combine with black to produce greater range in black and white photos. Stay tuned for more on this. The march of megapixels continues with the HP PhotoSmart R717. This popular design now offers a 6.2 megapixel imager, red-eye removal, SD card storage, a Li-ion... (More)